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Hugh Charles was not the biggest cause for concern in the Edmonton Eskimos running game last season.

At least, that’s what the club indicated when it was announced Tuesday the seven-year CFL veteran was re-signed to a contract extension whispered to be in the neighbourhood of $100,000 a year.

If so, it’s a six-figure show of faith by an Eskimos club that has struggled to gain yards on the ground recently, finishing in the bottom half of the league in rushing since Jerome Messam had a 1,000-yard season with them back in 2011.

“Getting a chance to re-sign with the Eskimos is just giving me another opportunity to prove who I am and live out my dream being a professional football player,” Charles told Esks.com on Tuesday from his home in Texas.

Unfortunately, the five-foot-eight, 193-pound Colorado product couldn’t be reached for further comment — or to confirm or deny his new salary — following the Skype interview that was featured on the team’s website.

“I’ve had a great two-and-a-half years with the Eskimos and I felt it was a great opportunity in front of me to go ahead and negotiate another contract,” he said. “I want to thank (GM) Ed Hervey for allowing me the opportunity to come back and play for a team that I love and has given me my chance to continue to play in this league for another few years.”

Charles’s first contract with the Eskimos came from the Saskatchewan Roughriders, after he was traded near the end of the 2011 season for a conditional pick in the upcoming 2014 CFL draft.

Charles took over the starting spot the following season, while Messam tried his hand with the NFL’s Miami Dolphins.

Forced to win the starting job three times that year — out of training camp, then over the acquired Cory Boyd and again once Messam returned halfway through the schedule — Charles threatened the 1,000-yard rushing plateau, himself.

Unfortunately, he sat out the final two games with an injury to finish with 887 yards and six touchdowns on 170 carries, along with two more TDs and 522 yards on 32 catches.

This season, Charles’s 605 yards on 112 carries was only good enough for second on the team behind quarterback Mike Reilly’s 700-yard rushing season — the first QB to hit that milestone since Kerry Joseph, on the way to a Grey Cup championship in 2007.

Charles did, however, have a career year on kick returns, earning 550 yards on 24 of them. And he likely would have had a touchdown to add to that category had he not come up with a lame hamstring on one return that ultimately forced him to miss three games.

His lack of production in rushing wasn’t due to ability or effort, but rather opportunities in offensive co-ordinator Doug Sam’s zone-read-reliant playbook.

And the well-documented challenges faced by the embattled Eskimos offensive line didn’t help Charles’s cause any last year, either.

But things are looking up.

While it’s not yet known who the Eskimos next offensive co-ordinator will be, new head coach Chris Jones was a running back, himself, in his playing days.

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The Eskimos also re-signed cornerback and kick returner Joe Burnett on Tuesday. He led the CFL with six interceptions in 2012 but was held to a single pick last season.

Hugh Charles was not the biggest cause for concern in the Edmonton Eskimos running game last season.

At least, that’s what the club indicated when it was announced Tuesday the seven-year CFL veteran was re-signed to a contract extension whispered to be in the neighbourhood of $100,000 a year.

If so, it’s a six-figure show of faith by an Eskimos club that has struggled to gain yards on the ground recently, finishing in the bottom half of the league in rushing since Jerome Messam had a 1,000-yard season with them back in 2011.

“Getting a chance to re-sign with the Eskimos is just giving me another opportunity to prove who I am and live out my dream being a professional football player,” Charles told Esks.com on Tuesday from his home in Texas.

Unfortunately, the five-foot-eight, 193-pound Colorado product couldn’t be reached for further comment — or to confirm or deny his new salary — following the Skype interview that was featured on the team’s website.

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The season is quickly collapsing on the Edmonton Eskimos, who watched a 7-0 start to the proceedings devolve into a five-game losing streak. But as bad as it's been lately, the skid has hardly wiped out all they accomplished early on as they still sit third in the West Division heading into the playoff stretch.